Environmental Pollution Issues in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Running Head: ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION ISSUES IN THE KINDGOM OF SAUDI ARABIA 1
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION ISSUES IN THE KINDGOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
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ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION ISSUES IN THE KINDGOM OF SAUDI ARABIA 2
Environmental pollution and health issues in KSA.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is globally known for producing large amounts of crude
oil. Crude oil is the main commodity sustaining the economy of the country since agricultural
activities do not thrive because the land has been covered by deserts even up to 98%.
Environmental pollution can be largely attributed to the desert conditions and largescale
production of crude oil in Saudi Arabia in various ways. (Ibrahim, 2011)
Desertification in Saudi Arabia has been the biggest challenge as far as sustainable
production of food is concerned. It is one of the most hazardous environmental issues, apart from
water pollution, air, and soil pollution. Pollution of air, water, and the soil contribute highly to
endangering the health of the people who are the exposure of the same since air and water are
among the indispensable necessities for the people. Air pollution, on the other hand, contributes
to desertification due to the formation of greenhouse effects in the atmosphere. Pollution and
desertification form a hazardous cycle that needs to be addressed for the interest of the health of
the people and the environment. (Mofat, 2018).
Sources of pollution and pathways to exposure groups
The major cause of air pollution in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the processing of
crude oil. Various greenhouse gases that result from the industrial processing and refining of
crude oil end up being emitted into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases worsen the existing desert
conditions and thus further hindering agricultural activities aimed at producing foods. (Bismark,
2018).The main sources of water pollution are the numerous desalination plants built by the
government of Saudi Arabia to extract pure water from salty seawater. This initiative is driven by
the drought conditions that have greatly lowered the water table leading to water shortage for the
population. In the process of desalinizing seawater for industrial and agricultural use, seawater is
heated by machines to obtain pure water vapor. At the end of the desalinization process, seawater
becomes polluted with very high salt concentrations and metals. Polluted water ends up
damaging sea ecology and biodiversity. Hundreds of sea creatures end up dying and extinct.
(Ayesha, 2018)During large-scale extraction of crude oil in Saudi Arabia, the soils of the
source areas end up being widely polluted by the chemical compounds that are used in the
extraction processes. The wastes produced from crude oil extraction and refining are also the